1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seal plate attachment and, more particularly, to a seal plate attachment for acoustic earmuffs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many types of earmuffs are available to provide users with varying degrees of noise attenuation and comfort, as required for various industrial, commercial and recreational activities. Generally, due to the expense of providing earmuffs for each user in each environment, a single pair of earmuffs may be shared by different users and/or are used in all environments. For example, industrial shift operators often use the same pair of earmuffs from one shift to the next, thereby potentially transferring contaminants. In addition, due to the user's differing head sizes and shapes, the effectiveness of an earmuff may differ from person to person. Even in situations where individual earmuffs are available to users/operators, additional problems may occur when single operators use the same earmuffs for extended periods in varying environments. When used in this manner, earmuffs can be ineffective if improper earmuff-to-head seals exists as a result of dirty or worn sealing elements, or by using earmuffs having inadequate noise attenuation for a particular situation.
To address the above noted deficiencies, the safety industry has provided various improvements to earmuff constructions. For example, an articulated earmuff-to-headband attachment construction has been disclosed in Gardner, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,966. In addition, various improvements have been suggested with respect to the soft sealing element portion of an earmuff. For example, an earmuff having a sealing ring which includes liquid and foam plastic layers is disclosed by Lundin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,134.
Although providing additional comfort and conformance to the head shape of any user to effectuate competent sealing of the earmuffs to the user's head, none of the foregoing, or similar earmuffs, provide an interchangeable, interlocking, light-weight and stylish earmuff. For acoustical earmuffs, varying degrees of comfort and noise attenuation are necessary for different users in different environments.